June 14, 2023 - No. 024 In This Issue : US Will Not Delay 5G Aircraft Retrofit Deadline : Read the NTSB Safety Alert: Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Jet Fuel Contamination : Hundreds of jobs landing in Chester Co. at new Piasecki helicopter plant : Structural Integrity Factors Can Cause Premature Failure, Part 1 : Are lockwires still preferred over self-locking nuts and other ways of bolted joints’ safety? : HondaJet Service Center Opens in Southeast Asia :_FAA To Approve Use Of 91UL Fuel In Two-Thirds Of Piston Fleet : CubCrafters Unveils Ducted Fan Leading Edge Slats US will not delay 5G aircraft retrofit deadline By David Mumford Note: See important graphics and photos in the original article. Telecoms firms will be rolling out 5G near major US airports from July 1, 2023. Most aircraft need to upgrade their radio altimeters by this date to continue certain operations, and the FAA has said it will not be extending the deadline. What do you mean by “certain operations”? These ones: • Special Authorization CAT I, CAT II and above approaches. • Auto-landings. • Head-up display landings. • Enhanced vision systems through touchdown. For ease of reference, we’re going to call these “fancy landings” for the rest of this article. What do you mean by “most aircraft”? Aircraft that need to do this are “Transport and Commuter Category Airplanes.” Just like it says in the FAA rules! What FAA rules? The initial set of rules (Airworthiness Directive 2021-23-12) was published in Dec 2021. But that got superseded in May 2023 (right at the death, with only 1.5 months to go until the July 1st deadline!) with Airworthiness Directive 2023-10-02. This really is the place to go to find answers to all questions. The rules set two deadlines: July 1, 2023: All transport and commuter category airplanes, regardless of the type of operation (Part 91, Part 135, Part 121), will be prohibited from performing these fancy landings at any US airport unless they have upgraded their radio altimeters. Aircraft without upgraded radio altimeters will be able to operate into any airport, but cannot fly the fancy landings. Feb 1, 2024: US aircraft operating under Part 121 need to have upgraded their radio altimeters to be able to operate anywhere in the contiguous US. What are “transport and commuter category airplanes”? Commuter Airplanes = multi-engine, max pax seats 19, max takeoff weight of 19,000lbs. If you have more than 19 seats, or you’re heavier than 19,000lbs, that makes you a Transport Airplane. So this basically means everyone. EVERYONE everyone? Or just N-reg aircraft? Yeah ok, not EVERYONE everyone. The rules only apply to N-reg aircraft. So, technically, if you’re not N-reg you can carry on flying the fancy landings in the US after July 1st even if you haven’t upgraded your radio altimeter. But that’s probably not a great idea, because the 5G interference is still going to be an issue for you! As the FAA says in the rules (in response to no fewer than eleven foreign airlines who asked this very same question): “Under ICAO Annex 8, Airworthiness of Aircraft, the state of registry of an airplane is the state responsible for its airworthiness. For this reason, FAA ADs apply only to U.S.-registered airplanes. To the extent the FAA's bilateral partners agree with the FAA's finding of an unsafe condition in U.S. airspace, the FAA encourages those authorities to adopt the FAA AD or similar requirements as mandatory continuing airworthiness instructions for airplanes registered in other countries. The FAA also plans to publish information in the FAA's Aeronautical Information Publication to alert international operators to the 5G C-Band situation in the U.S., including the agency's use of Domestic Notices. The FAA strongly urges operators of foreign-registered airplanes to voluntarily comply with the actions required by this AD when operating in the contiguous U.S. given the unsafe condition affects their airplanes as much as the airplanes subject to this AD.” What if I don’t care about these fancy landings? If you’re N-reg but don’t have approvals to do these fancy landings, you don’t need to worry – no radio altimeter upgrade is required. Before July 1st, just stick this table into your AFM, and you’re done: Which airports are affected? Right now, there are almost 200 US airports with 5G interference issues. The FAA has an interactive map of them all here, where you can check all the restrictions for each one. This list of airports is probably going to increase after July 1st, as more 5G towers are installed across the country. What’s the backstory to all this? Please make it short In Dec 2021, the FAA had concerns about 5G networks interfering with aircraft radio altimeters due to similar frequencies. They banned fancy landings at some airports, issued some guidelines, and allowed some exemptions. In the end, a deal was made to delay activation near major airports, initially until July 2022 but extended to July 2023. Where can I find more info? • Really, truly, head here first for the FAA rules on all this, to get it from the horse’s mouth. • Then if you’re still keen, you can check here for the FAA website on all things 5G. • And also here for a recent webinar by AIN on the impact of 5G, with a focus on bizav. • Then finally here for the most recent special airworthiness information bulletin issued by the FAA on 24th May 2023, where they’re basically asking manufacturers and operators to continue assessing the whole 5G issue and report back to them their findings. US Will Not Delay 5G Aircraft Retrofit Deadline NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD UPDATE NTSB Safety Reminder: Danger of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Jet Fuel Contamination Remains a Serious Safety Concern The danger of contamination of jet fuel by diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) remains a serious safety concern. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revised a safety alert for operators advising operators to inform the fueler after discovering Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)-contaminated fuel and contact their original equipment manufacturer to develop inspection techniques and maintenance actions appropriate for each specific aircraft model type. Put safety first and read the NTSB 2019 Safety Alert (SA-079) warning jet fuel providers to take measures to prevent contamination of jet fuel by DEF. Aviation fuel contamination of all types is a longstanding safety issue and inadvertent introduction of DEF into aviation fuel continues to be a safety issue. The NTSB wants fuel providers to ensure they store all chemicals in labeled containers and that they add a “NOT FOR AVIATION USE” label to all DEF containers. Read the NTSB Safety Alert Hundreds of jobs landing in Chester Co. at new Piasecki helicopter plant It's estimated as many as 400 people will work at the facility by 2028. Thursday, June 1, 2023 Note: See videos and photos in the original article. Piasecki Aircraft is taking over the former Sikorsky plant in Coatesville. COATESVILLE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Hundreds of jobs are coming to a helicopter plant in Chester County that had been shut down. Piasecki Aircraft is taking over the former Sikorsky plant in Coatesville. Piasecki has purchased the Chester County facility and is turning it into an advanced R&D center. And Piasecki's new PA-890 helicopter, the world's first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell rotorcraft, will be built and tested there as well. The plant previously had been used by Sikorsky to produce that company's S-76 and S-92 helicopters. The ribbon cutting was Wednesday. The facility is expected to open its doors to employees in the fall. It's a 219,000 square foot plant and it's estimated as many as 400 people will work there by 2028. Piasecki Aircraft was founded in 1955 by Philadelphia native Frank Piasecki. Hundreds of jobs landing in Chester Co. at new Piasecki helicopter plant Structural Integrity Factors Can Cause Premature Failure, Part 1 Patrick Veillette, Ph.D. May 15, 2023 The probable cause of the American Airlines Flight 587 crash on Nov. 12, 2001, was "in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer’s unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs," the NTSB said. Credit: NTSB “We’re going to teach you how to turn and burn” were the exact words used by the founder and president of Aviation Safety Training, a company specialized in upset recovery training. The decorated Vietnam War veteran fighter pilot promised to immunize the pilots at my employer against loss-of-control accidents after completing his two-day training curriculum. The sales pitch included descriptions of how to “yank and bank” and use large deflections of the rudder to roll the aircraft during recoveries from extreme, unusual attitudes. To an audience of pilots, this sounded like a lot of adrenalin-pumping fun. At the conclusion of the sales presentation, the owner of Aviation Safety Training offered me a demonstration ride, hoping that I would write a full-length article hyping this training. Even though this could have been an article with plenty of eye-grabbing pictures, I declined for many reasons. First, the sales presentation did not provide independent evidence of the efficacy of this training. Second, his explanations on the uses of the rudder for upset recovery were contrary to the NTSB’s findings during the investigation of the American Airlines Flight 587 accident on Nov. 12, 2001. Third, I had grave concerns about the structural integrity of the aircraft used in such maneuvers, especially considering the NTSB findings of several closely related accidents. The timing of the sales pitch was not long after the NTSB issued its findings about a fatal accident over Rydal, Georgia on April 19, 1999. The aircraft involved was a T-34A “Mentor” operated by Sky Warriors Flight Training. During the simulated combat flight, the safety pilot instructed the client to turn harder and to bury the nose. While following the safety pilot’s instructions, the right-wing assembly separated from the airframe. The main airplane wreckage fell to the ground along the edge of a wooded area of a subdivision. The right-wing assembly was located approximately one-half mi. north of the main wreckage. Examination of the wreckage disclosed fatigue cracking in the spar material in the vicinity of wing spar fracture face. The NTSB determined that the probable cause was the fracture of the wing spar as a result of fatigue cracking that occurred over an unknown number of flights and flight hours, with a wing-loading spectrum not anticipated during design of the airplane. What is Loading Spectrum? “Loading spectrum” is a formal engineering analysis of the structural loads that an aircraft is likely to experience from maneuvering and atmospheric turbulence during its lifetime. Structural engineering specialists use this information to predict the safe lifespan of an aircraft’s structure. The Loading Spectrum will vary significantly based on an aircraft’s predicted usage. For instance, the standard for a mid-range transport might assume an average flight length of 2.5 hr., flying at an average altitude of 38,000 ft., and performing three flights in an average day. While cruising at 38,000 ft., based on historical trend data, it would encounter moderate atmospheric turbulence for a small portion of its cruising duration on some of those flights. The engineers would also formulate a prediction of the number of pressurizations cycles on the fuselage and the amount of stress placed on the wings from atmospheric turbulence. A number of other important assumptions are made in these predictions, such as the average temperature, atmospheric humidity and salinity. All of these are critical factors that influence the growth of cracks. Cracks may grow to catastrophic lengths prior to the component being removed from service when aircraft are used in a manner that falls outside of the original loading spectrum. The prime example of this was the Aloha Airlines Flight 243 accident on April 28, 1988, in which a portion of the fuselage shell failed catastrophically in flight. These accidents should have raised elevated concerns among operators who provide upset recovery training, as well as any other aircraft operator who uses their aircraft in a manner that doesn’t fall within the original design criteria. Asymmetric Loading A second important point that continues to be poorly understood is the additional stress that occurs on an airframe when a pilot’s control inputs create asymmetric G loads. The original design G-load limits of the T-34 series of aircraft were 6.0 and -3.0. At face value, this would give pilots the impression that this was a tough airplane that could withstand plenty of G loading. But that is an overly simplified understanding of structural integrity. Changing bank angle while simultaneously changing the G load creates a differential in the loading of one wing (or one stabilizer) relative to the other. The ascending wing is experiencing a higher load factor than the descending wing. This, in turn, applies a twisting force on the attach points that will be much more powerful than if the G load is applied symmetrically on the airframe. The G limits reduce to +4 / -2 Gs for “rolling” maneuvers. In Part 2 of this article, we discuss the danger of operating outside of an aircraft’s G load limitations. Structural Integrity Factors Can Cause Premature Failure, Part 1 For Want of a Nail: The crash of Emery Worldwide Airlines flight 17... When it comes to Aviation and the military, yes, safety wiring is still number one. When fasteners absolutely, positively must not move then it’s safety wire. Normally used on parts that rotate rapidly. Are lockwires still preferred over self-locking nuts and other ways of bolted joints’ safety? HondaJet Service Center Opens in Southeast Asia by Jennifer Meszaros - June 2, 2023, 3:48 AM Note: See photos in the original article. KarbonMRO's new HondaJet authorized service center in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, will serve HondaJet operators across Southeast Asia. HondaJet operators in Southeast Asia now have access to improved support with the opening of an authorized service center (ASC) in Kuala Lumpur by local company KarbonMRO. The opening came after Malaysian aviation authorities issued approval to maintain the type to KarbonMRO’s parent company, the Dviation Group, and the move cements its role as the sole ASC for HondaJet operators in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Dviation managing director Kevin Teoh told AIN that KarbonMRO has welcomed its first HondaJet for refurbishment work at the facility at Subang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur’s main gateway. The project is expected to take approximately two months. "We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of providing comprehensive maintenance and support services to HondaJet owners and operators in this dynamic and rapidly expanding market," Teoh said. “We are also grateful to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia [CAAM] for their support and trust in granting us full base maintenance capabilities as an approved maintenance organization for the world’s most advanced light jet.” Securing the CAAM’s approval took almost a year after North Carolina-based Honda Aircraft appointed KarbonMRO as an exclusive ASC for HondaJet operators in Southeast Asia. Looking forward, Dviation is aiming to leverage its extensive network and local expertise to expand services across the wider Asia-Pacific region. The company offers aftermarket services, including maintenance, repair, and overhaul, as well as comprehensive aircraft refits. It also has a presence in Bangkok; Delhi, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kathmandu, Nepal; Manila, Philippines; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Singapore; Yangon, Myanmar; Zagreb, Croatia; and Zurich. In addition to Malaysia, the ASEAN states also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. “Asia, particularly Southeast Asia and China, offers tremendous potential for aviation growth. As the global economy continues to shift towards the east, the demand for business aviation in the region will rise,” said Teoh, adding that both markets present unique opportunities and challenges. “Dviation Group recognizes the importance of a realistic approach when operating in these regions. Our deep understanding of the local regulatory landscape, cultural nuances, and business practices enables the group to navigate challenges effectively, ensuring seamless operations for its clients.” As the industry looks to curb carbon emissions, Dviation said it is also gearing up to become a front-runner in sustainable aviation in the region, positioning KarbonMRO as an engineering and maintenance provider for next-generation aerial vehicles, boutique MRO services, and de-carbonization and sustainability solutions. HondaJet Service Center Opens in Southeast Asia FAA To Approve Use Of 91UL Fuel In Two-Thirds Of Piston Fleet By Russ Niles Published:June 7, 2023 Updated:June 8, 2023 The FAA will issue a fleet authorization this year that will allow more than two-thirds of the gasoline piston fleet to operate on 91UL avgas. In a news conference held to update progress on the development of an unleaded high-octane replacement for 100UL, Lirio Liu, the head of certification for the FAA, said the agency plans to issue the blanket approval as part of the initiative to get rid of lead in avgas. “We expect approximately about 68 percent of the general aviation fleet will be able to use the UL91.” In addition to reducing lead emissions from piston aircraft, the fleet authorization for UL91 will give a glimpse of a lead-free future for GA aircraft. “That will facilitate broader use and experience with the transition,” Liu said. FAA To Approve Use Of 91UL Fuel In Two-Thirds Of Piston Fleet CubCrafters Unveils Ducted Fan Leading Edge Slats By Russ Niles Published:June 8, 2023 Note: See video in the original article. Already known for its aircraft’s nearly instant takeoffs and landings measured in plane lengths, CubCrafters is developing a new kind of powered leading-edge slat that will shorten both. The company has unveiled its Electric Lift Augmenting Slats (ELAS) and says it has the potential for broad application in the industry. It also might blunt the appeal of eVTOL aircraft while adapting technology developed for those aircraft. “ELAS is a disruptive concept that carries unprecedented benefits, including enabling fixed-wing aircraft to operate outside of designated airports and manage much higher payloads versus comparable eVTOL aircraft—all while enhancing safety,” said CEO Patrick Horgan. On the test bed NX Cub, the company uses a dozen small electric ducted fans to blow air across the top of the wing. The faster air over the top surface increases lift by a factor of 1.5 to 4, depending on the flight profile. The patented technology can be added to existing airframes or incorporated at the factory. “As our research and development continues, ELAS may prove to have the ability to dramatically enhance the short field performance capabilities of fixed-wing aircraft in general aviation as well as commercial aviation,” Horgan said. CubCrafters Unveils Ducted Fan Leading Edge Slats Curt Lewis